Landlines in cells would be good for prisoners, think tank claims
Landlines in cells could help prisoners maintain links with families and contribute towards rehabilitation, according to independent think tank Reform Scotland.
In its paper Prisons – calling home for Christmas, published today, Reform Scotland calls for a pilot scheme in Scottish prisons to offer prisoners a landline phone in their cell.
At present, Scottish prisoners can only access a telephone at certain times and often in communal settings. In England, a number of prisons have landline phones in cells to allow prisoners to contact their family more frequently and in private.
In addition, the think tank is calling for the prohibition of short-term prison sentences of less than six months, which it says have been shown to be ineffective at promoting rehabilitation. The ScottishGovernment is currently looking to extend what is a presumption against, rather than prohibition of, sentences of less than three months to up to a year.
Alison Payne, Reform Scotland’s research director, commented: "Almost two-thirds of all people sent to prison last year spent three months or less in jail. This is a short time, but it can cause havoc to individuals and their families and can lead to a loss of employment, income and housing as well as fracturing links with family and friends.
"Prisons are not just there to punish and protect the public. They also need to rehabilitate and to work with prisoners to help prevent reoffending, and offer training to help gain employment upon release. However the Scottish Prison Service and Scottish Government have admitted that there is limited ability for people serving less than six months to engage with such rehabilitation programmes.
"Evidence suggests that maintaining close family ties can help prevent reoffending. However, due to distance or circumstance some family members will be unable to see or speak to their loved one as often as they would like, if at all. We know that the vast majority of offenders will be released from prison after a very short sentence and it is vital that those support networks are maintained.
"Allowing prisoners to have more regular contact to friends and family, as they do in England & Wales, can benefit not just the inmate, but their family as well."
She added: "Tomorrow is Christmas Day. In England, many prisoners will be able to call home from their cell, speaking to their children about what Santa has brought them and maintaining a relationship for when they are released.
"In Scotland, they will not be calling home for Christmas."
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said prisoners had access to "pin phones" to keep in contact with family and friends, but there were no current plans to put phones in cells.